What a Trip Nominated for best travel blog

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

DivineCaroline is a website designed to give women a place to express ourselves.  Topics range from parenting, home and food to career and money, and my personal favorite, TRAVEL.  The site is free to join, read, write and start or visit forums. 

My ‘What a Trip’ blog has been nominated in the travel category.  If you enjoy reading my blog, I’d love your vote.

As a relatively new blogger,  I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Design Architect Krystyn Heidi at SquareSpace for designing my website.  I met Krystyn at the San Francisco BlogHer  conference during a blogging seminar.  She told me about SquareSpace and offered a free trial period of the site. 

If you are thinking about starting your own blog, I recommend SquareSpace .  They’ll give you a free fourteen day trial and provide solid customer support.

And while I’m on the self-promotion podium, I’d like to mention that my What a Trip travel blog is rapidly moving up the Alltop travel ranks. If you’d like to take a look at the travel blogs that I’m reading visit MyAlltop page. While you are there, why not create your own Alltop page?

Thanks for stopping by.  As Sally Field said at her 1985 Oscar acceptance speech, “you like me.  You really like me.”

Related Post:
How to Work with Travel Bloggers

Is blogging the lazy person's journalism?  As a freelance writer and blogger, my answer to this question is no.  I take as much time writing a blog post as I do writing a newspaper article.  An editor for Wine Spectator magazine recently posted to their online forum that blogging is a lazy person's journalism.  Here is what I had to say about that subject at OpenWine Consortium.

"This is the problem with the 'blogosphere'," according to Wine Spectator Senior Editor James Molesworth. "It's a lazy person's journalism. No one does any real research, but rather they just slap some hyperlinks up and throw a little conjecture at the wall, and presto! you get some hits and traffic." 

Samantha, Zanna and Cassie Zulch Visit Italy's Amalfi Coast

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

My recent article for the Contra Costa Times began on the streets of Italy's Amalfi coast, ventured to Quito, Equador and the Galapagos Islands, where a high school biology teacher introduced her student's to a living classroom and ended with the author jet boating up Oregon's wild Rogue River. 

The Tourist's Have Landed

With roller bags bumping along the cobblestone streets of Amalfi in the Campania region of Italy, Orinda’s Zulch family of five had American tourist stamped across their foreheads.

“The first couple of days we didn’t know what to do with ourselves,” reflects Zanna. “Eventually, we found the one woman in town who baked the bread and discovered where the locals shopped. We loved the farmer’s market with its beautiful fruit, fat plums and lemons for making Limoncello.”

The family traveled by water ferry to picturesque Positano and hired a boat to explore the caves and grottos. Known for its Italian pottery, the quiet town of Ravello was a highlight for dinner and drinks away from the crowds. The Zulches took a ferry to the Isle of Capri to ogle at the designer stores and high-end jewelry. “We had a nice lunch at Gemma’s with a great view of the island and water,” remembers Zanna. Her advice tip: “give yourself way more time at the airport. Everything is overbooked so you could loose your seat home!”

High School Students Learn  Environmental Science in Quito, Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands

Campolindo High School Students Visit Ecuador

Students and parents from Campolindo High School found their way home from Quito, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with teachers Amanda and Tom Renno and Holly Thompson.

Biology Teacher Amanda Renno noted that her favorite place was Isla Floreana. “There were only about 60 people who lived on the island, yet they had a school,” remarked Renno. “The main road was dirt, yet they had streetlights.”

The group was also able to visit a pirate cove, see penguins and tortoises, and snorkel with sea lions.

“We were able to observe different ecosystems in a very small land area,” noted Renno.

The 45 minute drive from the airport to the town covered at least seven ecosystems. They even saw a cactus growing in the middle of a rain forest! Renno added that it was amazing to see students who wouldn't normally interact, do so willingly.

The group selected EF Tours, which came recommended by teachers from Acalanes who have traveled with the company for a decade.

“I think travel for students is invaluable," affirms Renno. “The practical skills they gained, as well as the science content, were something they would never get in the classroom. I hope that I sparked a traveling bug in each and every student!”

Travel Bug Takes Me To Coastal Oregon

Oregon's Tu Tu Tun Lodge on the scenic Rogue River

The travel bug brought me to Tu Tu Tun Lodge, located on Oregon’s scenic Rogue River outside of Gold Beach. Its name is taken from the area's first inhabitants, the Tu Tu’ Tunne Rogue Indians.

“This place has a soul of its own,” shares Owner Laurie Van Zante. “We get that it’s all about relationships.” Indeed, during dinner prepared by Chef Justin Wills, Van Zante showed each guest to their chair, thoughtfully matching dining companions.

There is a certain elegance, yet laid-back comfort at this family-owned lodge. Priced on the high-end, each of 16 rooms offers a river view, some with fireplace and outdoor soaking tubs. Family reunions, corporate retreats or girl/guy getaways are welcome in two suites or two guest houses. Full dining is offered May through October, while discerning travelers might consider a winter visit. Off-season, the lodge room rates are a good deal and feature winemaker dinners and cooking classes.

If you bring the kids along, a ride on Jerry’s Rogue Jets, is in order. A nature-based adventure trip, the boats run from May until mid-October and are suitable for multiple generations.

Lafayette’s Bonnie and Marty Sivesind took their grandkids to Grant’s Pass, Oregon where they boarded the Hellgate Jet boat  for a two hour scenic trip on the Rogue. They also visited Wildlife Images Rehabilitation & Education Center, an animal refuge park.

Yes, dear reader, summer has ended and the kid's are back in school.  What better time to pack your bags and travel?  I'm off to Carmel for the Labor Day weekend.  Are you headed anywhere interesting or are you one of those cutting edge Staycation trendsetters?